Crime-Fighting Cameras Quietly Spread Across Northeast Missouri

By Mike Scott, NEMOnews Media Group

Automated license plate reader cameras are quietly expanding across Northeast Missouri, helping law enforcement track stolen vehicles and criminal suspects, even as most local sheriff’s offices declined to publicly share how — or how often — the technology is being used in their communities.

A questionnaire distributed by NEMOnews Media Group to every regional sheriff’s office about the use of Flock Safety cameras produced only two responses: Clark County and Shelby County. While the limited participation does not confirm how widespread the technology is, publicly available sources and online camera mapping tools indicate that license plate reader systems are already operating in more locations than the survey results alone would suggest.

Flock Safety cameras are not traditional surveillance cameras. They function as automated license plate readers (ALPRs), capturing still images of vehicle license plates along with identifying vehicle characteristics such as color, make, model and unique features. Each scan logs the date, time and general travel location. The camera units are typically solar-powered and transmit data through secure LTE cellular networks, allowing them to operate in rural areas without hardwired electricity or internet service. The system allows officers to search for stolen vehicles, link suspects to investigations and generate real-time alerts when flagged vehicles pass through monitored areas.

Clark County Sheriff Shawn Webster confirmed that his department began using the technology in October 2024 and currently operates two cameras placed near state-line travel corridors.

“We arrested a subject driving a stolen vehicle out of Michigan shortly after getting a Flock hit notification,” Webster said. “We also recovered another stolen vehicle out of Clark County shortly after getting a Flock hit.”

Webster said the cameras assisted in solving a burglary in Alexandria and can generate notifications when vehicles tied to outstanding warrants travel through the county. Webster also stated that a report from one of Clark County’s cameras helped the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrest an attempted-murder suspect from out-of-state.

“They have been beneficial,” Webster said.

The cameras in Clark County are leased through the Missouri Department of Public Safety rather than directly funded by the sheriff’s office. Data access is limited to dispatchers and deputies, and records are stored for 30 days before being automatically deleted. Webster said his department has written policies governing the system and has received no citizen complaints regarding privacy. “All use of the Flock system is conducted in a lawful, ethical and professional manner,” he said

Shelby County Sheriff Arron Fredrickson said his office does not currently use the cameras but supports the concept.

“We would like to have some, but we cannot afford them at this point,” Fredrickson said. “It is an awesome tool to solve crime and prevent crime.”

Beyond the survey, Schuyler County has at least one license plate reader in operation. Last summer, investigators were able to use license plate reader data to help identify a suspect vehicle connected to the credit card skimming devices discovered at the Casey’s General Store in Lancaster last summer, giving officers an important lead in that case.

Several cameras have been reported in Marion County, and Palmyra has multiple units in use. The public website banishbigbrother.com lists two camera locations near LaGrange, suggesting that vehicle-tracking technology is already monitoring traffic moving in and out of that city.

Across Missouri and the Midwest, similar systems have been credited with recovering kidnapped children, tracking violent crime suspects and locating stolen vehicles within hours of reports. As the technology expands, agencies increasingly share data across county and state lines, allowing investigations to move faster than ever before.

With most regional sheriff’s offices choosing not to respond publicly, the full picture of how often — and how intensively — this technology is being used locally remains difficult to verify. What is clear is that license plate reader systems are no longer limited to major cities and are becoming a routine part of rural policing, raising important questions about transparency, funding, effectiveness and privacy in small communities.